Orsa, city in northeastern Belarus, in Vitsyebsk Oblast, located about midway between Barysaw in Belarus and Smolensk in Russia. Orsa is a major river port on the Dnieper River where it cuts through the Smolensk Ridge, the drainage divide between the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea. The city is a primary transportation hub located at the intersection of railroads and highways running north to south between Saint Petersburg and Kyiv (Kiev) and east to west between Warsaw, Minsk, and Moscow. Orsa is a significant producer of linen textiles and engineering products. It also has food-processing industries for wheat, fruit, vegetables, and meat. A large peat-fired electrical plant is located nearby.
The city was founded as early as the 6th century AD. In 1054 it became part of the independent principality of Polotsk (Polatsk), which was the center of present-day Belarus. A major battle between Russian and Lithuanian forces was fought in Orsa in 1514, when much of Belarus was part of Lithuania. The city was annexed by Russia as part of the first partition of Poland in 1772. German forces occupied Orsa from July 1941 to July 1944 during World War II. Soviet soldiers drove out the Germans and allegedly executed large numbers of local residents suspected of collaborating with German Nazis. Population (1996 estimate) 124,676.
